The light heavyweight main event is up. Former 205-pound champion Rashad Evans fights Thiago Silva, who has smashed everyone the UFC put in front of him with the exception of reigning champion Lyoto Machida. Evans himself was dominated by Machida last year, losing his title to "The Dragon" via highlight-reel KO for Evans' first MMA loss.

Speculation that Evans' long-awaited grudge fight vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson might be in jeopardy (again) if Evans loses to Silva might be premature. I think Evans and Jackson established their rivalry well enough that it will still happen regardless of the result here tonight. But in terms of staying in the light heavyweight title picture, this fight holds significance for both Evans and Silva.

Round 1: Evans comes forward quickly and throws a combo, leading into a clinch. Silva takes a Muay Thai plomb. Evans takes Silva down, but he gets back up with help from the fence. Evans lifts Silva into the air and slams him down again. Evans gets full mount, but before he can ground and pound, Silva spins and scrambles out of trouble. Evans clinches Silva against the cage wall. Short left hands from the clinch by Evans. They're off the fence now. Silva with a body punch followed by a knee, which Evans catches and uses for a takedown. Evans has side control. Silva fights to his feet again. Jab by Evans. Inside leg kick by Silva. A pair of jabs and an inside leg kick by Silva. Silva lands a short right on an exchange. Evans misses a combo and Silva grazes him with a counter. Evans ties Silva up at the cage. Silva with a knee to the ribs. Evans with a nice body punch and a boxing combo into another takedown attempt. Silva with a punch to the ribs. The round ends, and it's 10-9 Evans in my opinion.

Round 2: Silva's corner tells him to circle to the right, which he does. Evans uses a quick boxing combo to set up another clinch. Both fighters doing a small amount of dirty boxing. They separate. Silva with inside leg kicks. Evans with a takedown into side control. Silva scrambles and ends up seated against the fence. He escapes to his feet. Silva throws a straight left that misses, but he avoids a takedown. Evans shoots in again. He's just wearing Silva down with this constant grappling, even if it isn't doing much damage. Jab by Silva. And a jab from Evans. Silva with a body kick. Evans with a jab into a takedown. Silva's back up, and the round ends with the fighters clinched on the fence. 10-9 Evans.

Round 3: Evans uses yet another one-two combo to set up a takedown. Silva is able to get up from these, but he has no answer for it. Silva needs to be the aggressor here rather than moving back every time Evans throws that setup combo. Silva with a right jab. Silva with a body kick, and Evans connects with a right to the jaw. Silva is now dropping his hands and clowning Evans, probably out of frustration, to try and bait him into a fistfight. Evans moves in and Silva lands a left-right combo that stuns Evans and puts him on his back. Silva scrambles to finish him on the mat as Evans gets to his knees. Evans is standing, but he's hurt and looking at the clock. Silva is hammering at him trying to finish the fight. Fists, knees and uppercuts by Silva. Silva is now standing with his hands on his hips clowning Evans, but in doing so, he gives Evans a chance to recover. Terrible, terrible decision right there. Evans shoots for a takedown with about 40 seconds left, and they're clinched against the fence again. Evans' corner is yelling the time to him every five to ten seconds, as Evans just clings to Silva on the fence, trying to ride out the clock. And he does. 10-9 Silva, but man, did he ever miss a chance to win by getting cute.

Evans said after the win that it was his strategy to get back to his wrestling roots, which he got away from for a while once his striking started looking better. He also said he didn't realize how badly Silva rocked him with that punch until he tried to take a step back and his legs didn't cooperate with him.

As expected, he called out Rampage after the bout. I'm sure we'll get that fight this summer.

Submission specialist Dustin Hazelett fights knockout artist Paul "Semtex" Daley at a catchweight of 172 pounds, after Daley failed to make weight at 170 for their scheduled welterweight bout. Win or lose, Daley will be fined 10 percent of his purse for missing weight.

Hazelett is looking for his third straight UFC win. Daley will try to capitalize on his first-round TKO win over Martin Kampmann in Daley's UFC debut in September.

Round 1: Hazelett does a funky forward roll kick to start, which does nothing but draw a crowd reaction. Head kick by Hazelett is blocked. Leg kick by Daley. Daley with another leg kick, Hazelett checks it. Teep kick by Hazelett. Outside leg kick by Daley. Another teep by Hazelett. Hazelett throws a right hand that misses, and Daley answers with a vicious left hook that knocks Hazelett out. Daley smashes Hazelett a few more times on the ground before referee Herb Dean can stop the fight.

Joe Lauzon tries to avenge his family name after brother Dan lost via submission earlier tonight, as he fights Sam "Hands of Stone" Stout at lightweight. Stout claimed this week that the fight is so much more than a striker vs. grappler style clash. I guess we'll find out.

Round 1: Stout with a quick one-two combo and Lauzon immediately body locks him for a takedown. Stout is holding him in half guard. Lauzon with short elbows to the side of the face. Stout is cut open as Lauzon tries to roll into a kimura submission. Stout escapes and they're back on their feet. Stout's cut is above his left eye. Stout throws some fists but doesn't land much to speak of. Lauzon shoots in for a takedown. Stout uses the cage to fight his way back to his feet. Stout lands a knee to the ribs for good measure. Lauzon shoots again but ends up pulling guard. Stout throwing elbows from the top. Lauzon tries to work his hips higher on Stout's frame to work for a submission but Stout stands up. Lauzon follows, and Stout is now landing more strikes. Head kick by Stout is partially blocked. Stout times Lauzon on a punch and lands a nice right hand to the jaw. Stout with a leg kick and Lauzon counters with a right. Lauzon looks tired. He whiffs on a right hand. Spinning backfist by Stout, but Lauzon blocks it. The round ends, and it's real close. Stout looks the worse for wear thanks to that elbow, and he got taken down a few times, but he was clearly the better fighter at the end of the round. I'd score it 10-9 Stout.

Round 2: Stout throws off Lauzon on a takedown attempt. Stout keeps attacking the left side of Lauzon which is probably contributing to how tired Lauzon looks. Head kick by Stout connects as Lauzon is ducking in for a takedown attempt. Lauzon still completes the motion and Stout takes full guard. Lauzon tries, and fails, to hold Stout down. Left hook by Stout, followed by a leg kick. Lauzon catches Stout's leg on a kick attempt and tries to take him down, but can't. Lauzon with a straight right. He's moving forward on Stout despite getting the worst of the striking exchanges. Stout with a combo of fists and a leg kick, but Stout himself is starting to look tired. Stout with a fists combo that gets blocked, followed by a head kick. Lauzon shoots for a takedown and ends up pulling guard when Stout sprawls. Stout lets him up. Three-punch combo by Stout, only the last one connects. Two uppercuts by Stout. Lauzon uses the shot as a way to pull guard again, and the round ends. 10-9 Stout.

Round 3: Lauzon comes out with a takedown attempt. Stout stuffs it, and lands a combo on the separation. More body shots by Stout. Lauzon's throwing one punch at a time, and missing in most cases. Stout with a three-punch, leg-kick combo as Lauzon defends. Body kick by Stout. Lauzon is now telegraphing every takedown attempt by throwing a weak punch as a lead-in, and Stout sees it coming every time. Stout is still peppering Lauzon with combos, and while they don't have much on them anymore, Lauzon has no answer for it, other than to cover his head. Stout with punches to the ribs followed by a low kick, which Lauzon catches for a takedown. Lauzon moves to half guard, trying to pass. Lauzon gets full mount and then slaps on a guillotine choke, but Stout slips out of it and resumes pounding on Lauzon with fists. They're on their feet again with a minute left. Lauzon is exhausted, just covering up when Stout throws hands. Stout snaps Lauzon's head back with a big uppercut. Stout misses another spinning backfist attempt. Stout lands three good shots before the final buzzer. That's got to be a 30-27 win for Stout, and it's certainly the best I've ever seen him look. Great game plan, great execution.

Duane "Bang" Ludwig makes his return to the UFC after a four-year absence. He's 2-0-0 in the UFC already, with the last fight officially recorded as an 11-second knockout over Jonathan Goulet at UFC Fight Night 3.

If not for a timekeeper error that night, Ludwig would hold the record for fastest KO in UFC history , since referee Mario Yamasaki actually stopped the bout at the 4-second mark. Since the timekeeper's error was deemed the "official" fight result, Ludwig is only tied for sixth fastest KO, when the reality is that he should be the record holder.

Ludwig trivia aside, Jim Miller is a serious opponent that has only lost twice in 17 bouts, with the defeats coming at the hands of Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar.

Round 1: Both guys cautious with their strikes at the start. Miller with a combo, followed by a leg kick. Ludwig answers with a combo. Hard straight right hand by Ludwig. Miller with a right jab. Miller whiffs on an overhand right, but then he connects with a short right and Ludwig hits the canvas. Miller goes to the mat and as Ludwig scrambles to get to his feet. Miller locks on an armbar. Ludwig fights it at first, but eventually has to tap out.

The heavyweights are up, as PRIDE FC veteran Gilbert Yvel makes his UFC debut against Junior Dos Santos, who remains undefeated in the big show. Dos Santos most recently beat Mirko Cro Cop via submission to a punch at UFC 103, a bout that made Cro Cop briefly consider retirement.

Yvel's biggest fight in recent years was a third-round submission loss to Josh Barnett at Affliction: Day of Reckoning last January.

Yvel enters to AC/DC's "Thunderstruck." Dos Santos enters to the "Rocky" theme. Also, Dos Santos' left ear is cocked at an almost 90-degree angle from his skull. If there's to be another "exploding ear" fight in U.S. MMA lore, Dos Santos is a likely participant.

Round 1: Dos Santos with a quick left to the body. Yvel with a kick attempt, but it's blocked. Overhand right by Dos Santos is blocked. Dos Santos with a fast combo that finds the mark, and Yvel lands a pair of countering rights. Dos Santos throws a leg kick and Yvel counters with a left hook. Head kick by Yvel is blocked. Dos Santos throws a right to the gut, and then comes over the top with a big left hand that puts Yvel on his back. Dos Santos goes Donkey Kong on Yvel on the ground, and even though Yvel is rolling around and covering up, it's not enough, and Herb Dean stops the fight. Yvel gets up to protest the stoppage.

Dos Santos is now 4-0 in the UFC. Through manager Ed Soares, Joe Rogan asks Dos Santos where this fight puts him in the title picture.

"At the top," he said.

Speaking of the UFC heavyweight title picture, is was announced recently that Shane Carwin will fight Frank Mir for the interim heavyweight title in March at UFC 111. Carwin would probably have to follow a modified version of Brock Lesnar's strategy against Mir (from the second fight, not the first). From there, the question will be how much of a factor Lesnar's weight advantage was, since Carwin will be a lighter load on Mir in a ground fight, and also since Mir has bulked up a bit.

Martin "The Hitman" Kampmann fights Jacob "Christmas" Volkmann at welterweight in the next bout.

Kampmann has only lost twice in the past five years, but one of those losses was in his last fight vs. Paul Daley in September. Volkmann made his UFC debut at UFC 106, losing via decision to Paulo Thiago.

Round 1: Volkmann's in the southpaw stance. He loads up on an overhand left that misses. Volkmann swings big and misses again, but closes the distance and lands some short shots. Kampmann smashes him with a right hand that makes Volkmann drop to one knee briefly. They separate after another exchange. Volkmann is being aggressive but Kampmann sees him coming every time thus far. Volkmann rushes forward with a combo of fists and actually connects with two of the punches, but one counterpunch from Kampmann puts him on his back. Volkmann immediately takes full guard. Kampmann throws bombs down at him from above but is picking his shots carefully. Volkmann briefly has half guard, but Kampmann stands up to throw more big punches from above. Kampmann goes to his knees and hits Volkmann with hammer fists, and as Volkmann turns to his own knees, Kampmann slaps on a guillotine choke for the tapout. Dominating win for "The Hitman." The difference in experience was very apparent.

Here we go with a lightweight fight between American Top Team product Cole Miller and Dan Lauzon, who rejoins his brother Joe on the UFC roster tonight.

Round 1: Lauzon throws but can't connect. Miller connects with a left hook in the midst of a boxing combo and then throws a Muay Thai knee. Lauzon drops Miller with a left hook of his own and Miller scrambles to his feet. Knee by Lauzon. Muay Thai knees by Miller in response. Miller holds onto the plomb and tries to jump into a knee while Lauzon throws body punches. Miller with a leg kick, Lauzon catches the foot and throws punches. Miller lunges forward and Lauzon ducks behind him and tries for back control on the ground. Miller locks on an inverted triangle from the ground, and Lauzon can't escape. He taps out, giving Miller a very nice win.

Winner: Cole Miller defeats Dan Lauzon via submission to a kimura from an inverted triangle at 3:05 of Round 1.

On the replay, you can see that not only did Miller have Lauzon trapped in an inverted triangle, but he was also cranking on a kimura from the other side. The submission was attributed to the kimura. Either way you slice it, a nice display of jiu-jitsu right there.

I'll be starting my round-by-round live blog of the rest of the card -- including the two remaining prelim bouts -- shortly after 9 p.m. ET. Refresh my main blog page for the latest updates as the night progresses.